New guided tour titled Peter’s Way created in St. Petersburg at Gazprom’s initiative

The opening ceremony for the launch of a new city tour titled Peter's Way took place today in St. Petersburg. Taking part in the event were Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Alexander Beglov, Governor of St. Petersburg.

The Peter's Way tour goes through iconic places where the city was born: Petrovskaya Embankment, Peter the Great's Cabin, and Trinity Square. The route, which is two kilometers long, starts at the Nakhimov Naval School and ends at the Mini City architectural installation located in Alexandrovsky Park.

The project, which was initiated by Gazprom, involved an extensive scope of landscaping, exterior lighting and street lighting works. For instance, a part of the route is paved with granite slabs that are 84 centimeters long, i.e. equal in length to the step of Peter the Great. Some of the slabs are embedded with decorative elements, namely the Emperor's footprints cast in bronze and such symbols of the era of Peter I as an anchor, a compass and cannons, as well as letters of the civil alphabet introduced by the Emperor. New street lamps and luminaires were installed, and renovations were provided to architectural and artistic lighting of monuments and sculptures.

The knechhts and cannons located along the route, together with a special height meter designed to compare one's height to that of Peter the Great, serve to immerse the residents and guests of the city in Peter the Great's time.

In the Tovstonogov Garden Square, new sculptures were installed that depict the key events in the life of Peter I and the main transformations initiated by him: the childhood years of the Emperor, the conquest of Azov, the creation of the Russian Navy, the foundation of St. Petersburg, and military victories.

At any time, you can take Peter's Way with the audio guide by a historian Pavel Peretz. The audio guide is available on the official website of the project ПутьПетра.рф in Russian, English and Chinese. The QR codes with the links to the audio guide can be found on the information signs all along the route.

Today, volunteers of the Friends of St. Petersburg project, which is run by Gazprom, held an art mediation event presenting Peter's Way. Unlike a tour, art mediation implies that its participants discuss the things they have seen with an expert and other participants and encourages the audience to make an analysis on their own and to share their thoughts and feelings.

“Today, a new city tour titled Peter's Way is launched. The tour is a part of a large-scale program for the comprehensive urban improvement of our beloved city.

And we are confident that the new route will become a new major attraction for the residents and guests of the city and, of course, for young people, who will be able to learn about our past, explore our past and feel proud of our great history,” said Alexey Miller.

“St. Petersburg celebrated its birthday yesterday, and more gifts continue to arrive today. We open the unique Peter's Way route here, in the very heart of the Northern Capital, in the place where our city was born. It took two years of thorough work for scientists and construction specialists to create the route. It is a monument that celebrates the major achievements of the founder of St. Petersburg, his achievements for the benefit of Russia. It is a vivid example of how historic sites can be filled with new content, while preserving the spirit of the past. I am sure that as soon as this summer the new route will become one of the most popular among the residents and guests of St. Petersburg,” said Alexander Beglov.